Sunday, April 25, 2004

FAIRVIEW-RIVERSIDE STATE PARK, MADISONVILLE, LA

Our Bus Behind Tracy and Clarice's Collection

Clarice, Tracy and Rocky at the Backyard Fire Pit

Tracy

Clarice, Tracy and Johny B

The Buses All Together

Clarice

Johnny B Through The Looking Glass

23 April to 25 April, 2004. This place has electricity, water, good showers and a lot of counter space around the sinks. We got an decent signal there. There are alligators there too. It rained several inches on Monday- some surrounding areas got as much as 10 inches of rain on Sunday alone! A nearby dam even broke.

We met Kathy who was a little down on her luck but was working and living at the campground. She brought over some crab from a nearby crawfish / crab boil and Rocky estimates that he ate $50 worth of crab (at restaurant prices). We also had an old friend stop by and had a great time. Early one evening, I walked less than a mile down the road to meet Kathy at a local bar but just as I got there, she was leaving for another job she got on the spot. It was nice to see her with renewed energy and income. I stayed at the bar (The Harbor?) anyway and had a great time.

26 April, 2004. We also met Tracy who was working in the entrance station. She collects VW buses with her roommate, Clarice. We totally hit it off with them. We went to their house on Monday afternoon, had some drinks and spent the night parked in their driveway. We ordered pizza and built a fire in their fire pit out back. We discovered that Clarice and Rocky have nearly the exact same idea- to open a VW bus oriented campground on the Mississippi River. We think they would be the perfect business partners. Tracy has administrative experience with the State Park system and both of them have construction, painting, and VW experience. Rocky and I are very excited about the new potential.